Buying a Asus UX32VD this week

[Ashenor]

Going to order one from Xotic this week, the 620m is a bit week but will probably look into OC'ing it, i hear it can reach 640m levels that way. I am going to upgrade the thermal paste on it, increase the ram from 4 to 10g's. It comes with a 500g mechincal drive, i would rather have a 500g SSD drive but not sure if i want to drop the extra 400-500 on it right now. Without the HD upgrade it will be around $1400ish without the SSD. Think i will see a huge upgrade with the SSD, i mean it's just a couch machine to play some Magic the Gathering online (MTGO), Solforge/Ascension soon, and some WoW, Dota 2 and the likes, I have a great desktop so it does not have to play anything top notch. But $400ish seems like a lot to have the same space and faster access speeds.

Thoughts?

 

[T_Yamamoto]

Change thermal paste for something real nice.

Take out ODD and exchange for an SSD, that way you'll have more room.

Also I don't think you can have 10gb, just pick up 2x4gb. Its enough for gaming.

Over clocking a GPU in a laptop is very intensive and it can get very very hot, just a headsup

 

[crab0]

Change thermal paste for something real nice.

Take out ODD and exchange for an SSD, that way you'll have more room.

Also I don't think you can have 10gb, just pick up 2x4gb. Its enough for gaming.

Over clocking a GPU in a laptop is very intensive and it can get very very hot, just a headsup

There's no disc drive and its 2GB soldered + one slot (8GB stick) for 10.

I would be wary of messing with the GPU considering the thermals on ultrabooks are generally high.

 

[Ashenor]

There's no disc drive and its 2GB soldered + one slot (8GB stick) for 10.

I would be wary of messing with the GPU considering the thermals on ultrabooks are generally high.

Ya you can only add the one stick so 10g is max, and cheap for the price its like $59. The paste is cheap also but helps since it runs hot already.

I am pretty sure i am going to do the Samsung 840 SSD its $199 extra, and only 10 bucks more then the M4.

So total right now is $1594 with the Ram, SSD, Clean OS install, External Drive, Ice Thermal Paste.

 

[fuzzybabybunny]

I have the UX32VD.

1. There is 2GB soldered in and you have one RAM slot. I have no clue why they didn't just solder in 4GB. Would have made more sense. So buy an 8GB and you max out at 10GB.

2. Replacing the HDD with an SSD is the single most important and highest bang for the buck upgrade you can give to it. Get a 256GB for now and learn to manage your space.

3. The machine is very easy to take apart. Not sure about the heatsink fan portion of it though, although I don't think "better" thermal paste would really do much?

 

[Ashenor]

I have the UX32VD.

1. There is 2GB soldered in and you have one RAM slot. I have no clue why they didn't just solder in 4GB. Would have made more sense. So buy an 8GB and you max out at 10GB.

2. Replacing the HDD with an SSD is the single most important and highest bang for the buck upgrade you can give to it. Get a 256GB for now and learn to manage your space.

3. The machine is very easy to take apart. Not sure about the heatsink fan portion of it though, although I don't think "better" thermal paste would really do much?

From most of the stuff i have seen it cools it about 11 degree's + at max load, i figure for 25 bucks it can't hurt.

Do you game on yours at all? If so how is it? And ya i am going to do the Samsung 840 256 SSD on it.

 

[fuzzybabybunny]

From most of the stuff i have seen it cools it about 11 degree's + at max load, i figure for 25 bucks it can't hurt.

Do you game on yours at all? If so how is it? And ya i am going to do the Samsung 840 256 SSD on it.

Wow, I'm surprised that it cools it that much.

The only game I've run is Borderlands 2. I have it on 1920x1080 with everything on medium. No AA or AF though.

 

[wallacengineer]

Going to order one from Xotic this week, the 620m is a bit week but will probably look into OC'ing it, i hear it can reach 640m levels that way. I am going to upgrade the thermal paste on it, increase the ram from 4 to 10g's. It comes with a 500g mechincal drive, i would rather have a 500g SSD drive but not sure if i want to drop the extra 400-500 on it right now. Without the HD upgrade it will be around $1400ish without the SSD. Think i will see a huge upgrade with the SSD, i mean it's just a couch machine to play some Magic the Gathering online (MTGO), Solforge/Ascension soon, and some WoW, Dota 2 and the likes, I have a great desktop so it does not have to play anything top notch. But $400ish seems like a lot to have the same space and faster access speeds.

Thoughts?

Just my two cents here...

Why are you spending so much money on a laptop with barely decent hardware? I understand the want for an Ultra-Lightweight Notebook, but will a few extra pounds really be that much of an issue for you?

For that kind of money you could get a very nice 16 or 17 inch gaming laptop with a NVIDIA 660 or 670 GPU and an Intel Core i7 Quad processor and 16GB DDR3 1600 or even maybe 1833 RAM.

You could also push dual hard drives at that price!!! The optimal setup I think would be the Intel 520 60GB SSD (VERY fast read/write speeds for boot and system reading), combined with a 750GB 7200RPM data drive will easily put a smile on your face.

Change thermal paste for something real nice.

Take out ODD and exchange for an SSD, that way you'll have more room.

Also I don't think you can have 10gb, just pick up 2x4gb. Its enough for gaming.

Over clocking a GPU in a laptop is very intensive and it can get very very hot, just a headsup

Also, on top of what crab0 said here, your specific choice has even less cooling performace than normal laptops.

Because Ultrabooks are designed to be so light, the fans and copper heat sinks included are much smaller and so thermals WILL BE A PROBLEM during OVERCLOCKING.

In my opinion, ultrabooks and netbooks are best for businessmen on the go, just a working man who needs the Internet, Microsoft Word, and the ocassional Thing Thing Arena to keep himself entertained.

If you want a gaming laptop, trust me, you are WAY better off just going full-sized.

 

[Ashenor]

Just my two cents here...

Why are you spending so much money on a laptop with barely decent hardware? I understand the want for an Ultra-Lightweight Notebook, but will a few extra pounds really be that much of an issue for you?

For that kind of money you could get a very nice 16 or 17 inch gaming laptop with a NVIDIA 660 or 670 GPU and an Intel Core i7 Quad processor and 16GB DDR3 1600 or even maybe 1833 RAM.

You could also push dual hard drives at that price!!! The optimal setup I think would be the Intel 520 60GB SSD (VERY fast read/write speeds for boot and system reading), combined with a 750GB 7200RPM data drive will easily put a smile on your face.



Also, on top of what crab0 said here, your specific choice has even less cooling performace than normal laptops.

Because Ultrabooks are designed to be so light, the fans and copper heat sinks included are much smaller and so thermals WILL BE A PROBLEM during OVERCLOCKING.

In my opinion, ultrabooks and netbooks are best for businessmen on the go, just a working man who needs the Internet, Microsoft Word, and the ocassional Thing Thing Arena to keep himself entertained.

If you want a gaming laptop, trust me, you are WAY better off just going full-sized.

Sitting on the couch using a 17" is not comfortable after being used to using a iPad. I have a top end desktop gaming system to use, this is more for being lazy and messing around while watching TV or before i goto bed.

And for the price it smokes a Mac book air or pro of that size.

 

[Ashenor]

Going to pick up a Sony S13a at microcenter in a few instead of the Asus. Will report back how it is.

•Intel Core i7-3520M
•12GB DDR3-1333 RAM
•256GB Solid State Drive
•13.3" Widescreen LED-backlit Display
•Slot Loading CD/DVD Player/Burner
•Memory Card Reader
•NVIDIA GeForce GT640M LE 2g Ram
00 Network
•Intel Centrino Advanced-N 6235 802.11a/b/g/n
•Bluetooth Standard 4.0 + HS
•Microsoft Windows 8 (64-bit)

 

[wallacengineer]

Going to pick up a Sony S13a at microcenter in a few instead of the Asus. Will report back how it is.

•Intel Core i7-3520M
•12GB DDR3-1333 RAM
•256GB Solid State Drive
•13.3" Widescreen LED-backlit Display
•Slot Loading CD/DVD Player/Burner
•Memory Card Reader
•NVIDIA GeForce GT640M LE 2g Ram
00 Network
•Intel Centrino Advanced-N 6235 802.11a/b/g/n
•Bluetooth Standard 4.0 + HS
•Microsoft Windows 8 (64-bit)

There you go that's a bit better of a choice... I like that the SSD is larger and you get the 640M Graphics. How much does this one cost...?


Posted from Anandtech.com App for Android

 

[Ashenor]

There you go that's a bit better of a choice... I like that the SSD is larger and you get the 640M Graphics. How much does this one cost...?


Posted from Anandtech.com App for Android

Normally are $1699, most places have them on sale for $1499, found a new sealed one on ebay shipped for $1375 so not to bad.

 

[wallacengineer]

Quote:

Originally Posted by wallacengineer

There you go that's a bit better of a choice... I like that the SSD is larger and you get the 640M Graphics. How much does this one cost...?


Posted from Anandtech.com App for Android

Normally are $1699, most places have them on sale for $1499, found a new sealed one on ebay shipped for $1375 so not to bad.

Ya I'd say $1699 would be a bit too steep for that hardware, $1499 isn't too bad for it, and $1375 I'd say is spot on for that level of hardware.

Honestly the only thing I will say is try to be more careful where you shop. For $1699 I'd better be getting a full blooded 670-675GTX along with an SSD and Core i7 quad. Otherwise, I'm shopping somewhere else.

Keep yourself up to date with current prices by googling the iBuyPower and CyberPowerPC web sites as well as Toshiba. Toshiba's are extremely sturdy and well built and are a great value.


Posted from Anandtech.com App for Android

 

[Ashenor]

Ya I'd say $1699 would be a bit too steep for that hardware, $1499 isn't too bad for it, and $1375 I'd say is spot on for that level of hardware.

Honestly the only thing I will say is try to be more careful where you shop. For $1699 I'd better be getting a full blooded 670-675GTX along with an SSD and Core i7 quad. Otherwise, I'm shopping somewhere else.

Keep yourself up to date with current prices by googling the iBuyPower and CyberPowerPC web sites as well as Toshiba. Toshiba's are extremely sturdy and well built and are a great value.


Posted from Anandtech.com App for Android

You realize those don't exist in 13" laptops right? There is a prem you pay fro size, no one wants to sit on the couch with a 7 lb laptop burning a hole in there leg ha.

Got it Sat, not a bad little machine.

 

[fuzzybabybunny]

I was looking at the S13a when I was deciding on the Asus. Just can't get over the screen. Low resolution, bad colors, bad viewing angles. But then I do photo and video work. So the Asus it was, but I had to trade RAM capacity and a bit of video performance for it.

 

[Ashenor]

I was looking at the S13a when I was deciding on the Asus. Just can't get over the screen. Low resolution, bad colors, bad viewing angles. But then I do photo and video work. So the Asus it was, but I had to trade RAM capacity and a bit of video performance for it.

Ya i had a hard time accepting the screen vs the Asus, i think overall for what i am looking for the Sony will last me long then the Asus so i went with it, the price i found it for was a big factor since i was going to be $1600+ into the Asus to get it to where i wanted it to be.

 

[wallacengineer]

Quote:

Originally Posted by wallacengineer

Ya I'd say $1699 would be a bit too steep for that hardware, $1499 isn't too bad for it, and $1375 I'd say is spot on for that level of hardware.

Honestly the only thing I will say is try to be more careful where you shop. For $1699 I'd better be getting a full blooded 670-675GTX along with an SSD and Core i7 quad. Otherwise, I'm shopping somewhere else.

Keep yourself up to date with current prices by googling the iBuyPower and CyberPowerPC web sites as well as Toshiba. Toshiba's are extremely sturdy and well built and are a great value.


Posted from Anandtech.com App for Android

You realize those don't exist in 13" laptops right? There is a prem you pay fro size, no one wants to sit on the couch with a 7 lb laptop burning a hole in there leg ha.

Got it Sat, not a bad little machine.

Well ya I know it doesn't exist in a 13" but 7 pounds isnt a big deal of weight. That's like having a plate of food for breakfast in bed.

I do not see how a full sized laptop would be a problem for anyone's lap so long as you had a pad to keep it from burning ur legs.

The only laptop I've ever felt was uncomfortable was my old year 2001 Toshiba gaming laptop. Back then mobile devices were very heavy. The laptop had the original Pentium M mobile processor and only 64MB of Video RAM. It was so power hungry it had three copper heat sinks and fans and on a pretty accurate scale, came out to 16.3 pounds.

It wasn't the weight though, it was the heat. This thing had three heat sinks for a reason!!! lol!


Posted from Anandtech.com App for Android

 

[crab0]

Well ya I know it doesn't exist in a 13" but 7 pounds isnt a big deal of weight. That's like having a plate of food for breakfast in bed.

Remind me to have breakfast at your place

 

[Ashenor]

Well ya I know it doesn't exist in a 13" but 7 pounds isnt a big deal of weight. That's like having a plate of food for breakfast in bed.

I do not see how a full sized laptop would be a problem for anyone's lap so long as you had a pad to keep it from burning ur legs.

The only laptop I've ever felt was uncomfortable was my old year 2001 Toshiba gaming laptop. Back then mobile devices were very heavy. The laptop had the original Pentium M mobile processor and only 64MB of Video RAM. It was so power hungry it had three copper heat sinks and fans and on a pretty accurate scale, came out to 16.3 pounds.

It wasn't the weight though, it was the heat. This thing had three heat sinks for a reason!!! lol!


Posted from Anandtech.com App for Android

Main thing is i don't need a top end huge desktop replacement laptop, i have a great desktop 20 feet from my couch, i just wanted a small lite machine i could do some MMO stuff on while watching TV and chilling on the couch or play some other games when i don't want to commit to just siting at my desk for hours.